Was This Election About Moral Values - or RACE?

[pdmike]

I am told this last election was about "moral values." But I wonder. I am looking at one of the "Red state" maps of America and I notice something very interesting. Just about all of the red covers areas in this country where, not too long ago, slavery was the accepted way of life. I also notice that the blue areas correspond to areas of the country which, not so long ago, were classified as "free states," i.e., no slavery.

And I wonder . . . what was this last election really about?

pdmike

[JHB]

1. It was about "moral values" (so-called) AND race...

It was about What Team You're On
It was about Who Gets to Push Who Around

[DrWeird]

2. It sure wasn't about moral values.

nt

[ClintonTyree]

3. To the White red staters who voted for Bu$h......................

race is an integral part of their value system. They still consider themselves far superior to other races. They're morons, bigots and ill-informed. And they like it that way.

[wildeyed]

4. I was wondering that, too.

Are 'moral values' the new code word for bigotry. I guess 'state's rights' are so yesterday.

[Harlan James]

5. Race

Or, even more apt, intolerance and bigotry.

Karl Rove played all the hate cards, and then eased the minds of the GOP by convincing them it was all done in the name of "values."

[Sara Beverley]

6. Race...only the code words change from election to election.

"Law and order" "welfare queen" "big government" "low morals"
"states rights" "tax cuts"

[Vox_Reason]

13. Though I'd agree that boiling it down to race is oversimplification...

Your post is quite accurate, in my opinion.

"Moral Values"... "State's Rights"... "Welfare Queens"...

As a North Carolinian who saw the Jesse Helms "white hands" ads firsthand back in the day, I can tell you that racist appeals tend to bring out the knuckle-dragging contingent of the GOP in droves.

The fact is that the GOP has shown little hesitancy to activate the emotion-and-bigotry-driven wing of their party to help elect puppets who are actually beholden to wealthy party contributors, and not low-to-middle-income, racist/xenophobic/homophobic constituencies.

The bigoted voters act as the reactive grassroots to help elect candidates that actively screw them economically, but the bigoted GOP voters are happy because they believe that these profiteers are actually doing something to keep repressing "the queers and the n*ggers".

As long as the people they help elect pay casual lip service to hating anyone who's not white and straight and hardcore christian, they'll be happy to see these people outsource their jobs, cut their overtime, make their health care less accessible, etc.

This is a major challenge for the Democratic party to overcome. Read "What's the Matter With Kansas?" for more details.

[BlueEyedSon]

7. OK, this made the rounds about Nov 3

[K-W]

8. It is a cultural devide that has alot to do with the history of race.

But trying to boil it down to racism is a massive oversimplification.

[On the Road]

9. Every Election Since 1968 Has Been About Race

in one sense. The difference this time was gay rights, specifically gay marriage. Many of the same people. Different issue. The Southern strategy redux.

[daa]

10. I only know that here is Gerogia it is only RACE RACE and RACE

[One_Life_To_Give]

11. To imply the election was about a single issue

Is a gross oversimplification.

[Zinfandel]

12. It was about cleverly running up votes counts with NO paper trail

via electronic voting machines...and NOT letting anyone have access to the machines until things are cleaned up completely.

[Nordic]

14. it was about fraud. The "moral values" thing was a lie

and Zogby proved it.

Most people voted about the war, greed, and poverty:

http://www.zogby.com/soundbites/ReadClips.dbm?ID=10389

I dismays me that DUers are still drinking the media koolaid and believing what they hear

[Joe Chi Minh]

15. Employment,

adequate remuneration, health-care cover, no military draft and relatively benign government policy at home and abroad.

Serpentine worldly wisdom, it seems, has to be learnt the hard way by the more spiritual and innocent, in all countries. People may be unworldly, but that is not normally the same as stupidity. As Wild bill pointed out, they eventually "get it" (or words to that effect).

[samtob]

16. Doesn't everyone vote on MORAL values?

I did. But the difference is, everyone's opinion on what moral values are.

For some, it was the gay marriage issue.
For some, it was partial birth abortion, or abortion in general.
For some, it was the tax cuts.
For some, it was the war in Iraq.
For some, it was the war on terror.
For some, it was social security.
Etc.

Everyone can find moral values in all of these issues and more.

If you voted due to the abortion issue, you either voted for or against choice, both being a moral postion.

If you voted due to the gay marriae issue, you either voted for or against it, according you your moral position.

Make sense? We all voted based on morals, where the difference lies, is what we consider morals.